Vertical non-linear automotive assembly

ABSTRACT

A control system for controlling a plurality of manufacturing capsules in a manufacturing system for assembling a vehicle includes a processor and a nontransitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that are executable by the processor. The instructions include generating vehicle assembly instructions based on the vehicular manufacturing process, one or more selected levels from among the plurality of levels, and one or more selected manufacturing cells disposed at the one or more selected levels, defining a nominal path based on the one or more selected manufacturing cells and the one or more selected levels, and controlling movement of the manufacturing capsules based on the nominal path.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of U.S.application Ser. No. 17/157,666, filed Jan. 25, 2021, and titled“VERTICAL NON-LINEAR AUTOMOTIVE ASSEMBLY,” the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a configuration of an automotiveassembly process.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

A vehicle manufacturing environment may include an assembly line inwhich a vehicle workpiece transitions between various stations during amanufacturing process. However, vehicle manufacturing environments arelimited to two-dimensional layouts, unable to adapt to designvariations, and require large physical footprints and/or areas toefficiently manufacture the vehicle.

These issues with vehicle manufacturing environments, among other issueswith vehicle manufacturing environments, are addressed by the presentdisclosure.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure and is not acomprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

The present disclosure provides control system for controlling aplurality of manufacturing capsules in a manufacturing system forassembling a vehicle, the manufacturing system including a structurehaving a plurality of levels and including a plurality of manufacturingcells distributed among the plurality of levels, the manufacturingsystem including the plurality of manufacturing capsules disposable atthe plurality of manufacturing cells and configured to support avehicular manufacturing process to assemble the vehicle, where thevehicular manufacturing process includes a plurality of manufacturingoperations, the manufacturing system including a transport systemconfigured to move the plurality of manufacturing capsules to theplurality of manufacturing cells, where the transport system includes avertical transport system configured to longitudinally move theplurality of manufacturing capsules between the plurality of levels. Thecontrol system includes a processor and a nontransitorycomputer-readable medium comprising instructions that are executable bythe processor. The instructions include generating vehicle assemblyinstructions based on the vehicular manufacturing process, one or moreselected levels from among the plurality of levels, and one or moreselected manufacturing cells disposed at the one or more selectedlevels, defining a nominal path based on the one or more selectedmanufacturing cells and the one or more selected levels, and controllingmovement of the manufacturing capsules based on the nominal path.

In one form, the instructions further comprise controlling the movementof the manufacturing capsules based on vehicle assembly sequenceinstructions. In one form, the vehicle assembly sequence instructionsdefine the plurality of manufacturing operations of the vehicularmanufacturing process and one or more levels from among the plurality oflevels for performing the plurality of manufacturing operations. In oneform, the vehicle assembly sequence instructions identify a firstmanufacturing cell from among one or more levels of the plurality oflevels for performing a first manufacturing operation of the pluralityof manufacturing operations. In one form, the vehicle assembly sequenceinstructions define a path between the first manufacturing cell and oneor more additional manufacturing cells for performing additionalmanufacturing operations of the plurality of manufacturing operations.In one form, the path is based on a comparison between a cycle time of agiven manufacturing operation from among the plurality of manufacturingoperations to a threshold cycle time of the given manufacturingoperation. In one form, the instructions further comprise controllingthe movement of the manufacturing capsules based on a collisionavoidance routine. In one form, the vehicle assembly instructions arebased on a model of the vehicle, a trim of the vehicle, a hierarchalrelationship between the vehicle and one or more additional vehicles, ora combination thereof. In one form, the nominal path is based on thehierarchal relationship between the vehicle and the one or moreadditional vehicles. In one form, the one or more selected manufacturingcells include a plurality of selected manufacturing cells, and where thenominal path is based on a distance between the plurality of selectedmanufacturing cells, an aggregate cycle time of the plurality ofmanufacturing operations, an availability of the plurality of selectedmanufacturing cells, or a combination thereof. In one form, theinstructions further comprise controlling the movement of themanufacturing capsules based on cycle time data of the one or moreselected manufacturing cells.

The present disclosure provides a method for controlling a plurality ofmanufacturing capsules to assemble a vehicle in a manufacturing system,the manufacturing system including a structure having a plurality oflevels and including a plurality of manufacturing cells distributedamong the plurality of levels, the manufacturing system including theplurality of manufacturing capsules disposable at the plurality ofmanufacturing cells and configured to support a vehicular manufacturingprocess to assemble the vehicle, where the vehicular manufacturingprocess includes a plurality of manufacturing operations, themanufacturing system including a transport system configured to move theplurality of manufacturing capsules to the plurality of manufacturingcells, where the transport system includes a vertical transport systemconfigured to longitudinally move the plurality of manufacturingcapsules between the plurality of levels. The method includes generatingvehicle assembly instructions based on the vehicular manufacturingprocess, one or more selected levels from among the plurality of levels,and one or more selected manufacturing cells disposed at the one or moreselected levels, defining a nominal path based on the one or moreselected manufacturing cells and the one or more selected levels, andcontrolling movement of the manufacturing capsules based on the nominalpath.

In one form, the method includes controlling the movement of themanufacturing capsules based on vehicle assembly sequence instructions.In one form, the method includes controlling the movement of themanufacturing capsules based on a collision avoidance routine. In oneform, the method further includes controlling the movement of themanufacturing capsules based on cycle time data of the one or moreselected manufacturing cells.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now bedescribed various forms thereof, given by way of example, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of an example cylindrical structurehaving a plurality of levels in accordance with the teachings of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic top view of a plurality of manufacturingcapsules disposed at a plurality of manufacturing cells of a cylindricalstructure in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic view of an example rectangular structurehaving a plurality of levels in accordance with the teachings of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of another example rectangularstructure having a plurality of levels in accordance with the teachingsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic view of an example manufacturing cell andmanufacturing capsule in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic view of example transition nodes of astructure in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure;and

FIG. 7 illustrates a functional block diagram of a control system inaccordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. Itshould be understood that throughout the drawings, correspondingreference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

The present disclosure provides for a manufacturing system that is anonlinear manufacturing system for assembling a vehicle. Moreparticularly, as described herein, the manufacturing system includes amulti-level structure and manufacturing cells distributed among thelevels of the multi-level structure. Manufacturing capsules are disposedamong the manufacturing cells and configured to support a vehicularmanufacturing process to assemble the vehicle. The manufacturing systemincludes one or more vertical and horizontal transport systems thatcollectively move the manufacturing capsules to and from themanufacturing cells and between the plurality of levels. A controlsystem performs, for example, anticollision and autonomous movementroutines to control the movement of the manufacturing capsules. As such,the manufacturing system of the present disclosure may have a smallerphysical footprint than that of traditional manufacturingfacilities/systems. In addition, the manufacturing system provides for adynamic and adaptable vehicle manufacturing process that can account fordesign variations, quality issues, among other factors.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a manufacturing system 100 for manufacturing avehicle or a vehicle part includes structures 110-1, 110-2, 110-3(collectively referred to as “structures 110”). In one form, thestructures 110 each have a plurality of levels 130 and a plurality ofmanufacturing cells 140 distributed among the plurality of levels 130.In one form, a plurality of manufacturing capsules 150 are disposed atone or more of the manufacturing cells 140 and are configured to supporta vehicular manufacturing process to assemble the component. Thevehicular manufacturing process includes various manufacturingoperations. As used herein, “manufacturing operations” refer tomanufacturing processes in which a workpiece (e.g., the vehicle) issubjected to an operation using the one or more automated tools. Examplemanufacturing operations include, but are not limited to: installingbatteries, electric motors, suspensions, gas tanks, rear axles and driveshafts, gear boxes, steering box components, wheel drums, and brakingsystems to a chassis; assembling the body and the interior of thevehicle; mating the body and the chassis; and/or performing aninspection operation (e.g., a quality control routine, an end-of-line(EOL) testing routine, among others).

Referring to FIG. 2 , the manufacturing cells 140 are defined regions ofthe structure 110 in which the manufacturing capsules 150 are disposedat during a manufacturing operation. In one form, the manufacturingcells 140 may include a frame defining a volume and/or geometry suchthat the manufacturing capsules 150 can be positioned within themanufacturing cells 140. In one form, the manufacturing cells 140 mayinclude various systems (e.g., electrical power systems, attachmentmechanisms, controllers, among others) for moving the manufacturingcapsules 150 into and out of the manufacturing cells 140 and supportingoperations performed by the manufacturing capsules 150 (e.g., electricalpower to power robotic systems of the capsules).

In one form, the manufacturing capsules 150 are configured to transportcomponents utilized during the manufacturing operations. In one form,the manufacturing capsules are open-ended or closed structures that aredefined by a frame and have a shape or geometry that enable themanufacturing capsules 150 to be positioned within the manufacturingcells 140. In one form, the manufacturing capsules 150 may includeworkpiece capsules 152, supply capsules 154, and inspection capsules156. In one form, the workpiece capsules 152 are configured to performone or more manufacturing operations and thus, may include a workpieceand one or more automated tools (e.g., robots, stamping tools, machiningtools, among others).

In one form, the supply capsules 154 are configured to transportmanufacturing materials to the manufacturing cells 140. As an example,the manufacturing materials may include, but are not limited to:materials used to support a manufacturing operation (e.g., a fixture, atable, a conveyor, among others) and a workpiece (e.g., a fender, pumps,wheels, among others).

In one form, the inspection capsules 156 include an inspection systemconfigured to perform a vehicle testing operation and/or an inspectionoperation. As an example, the inspection system may include a computingsystem and hardware for performing a vehicle EOL testing routine. Asanother example, the inspection system may include, but is not limitedto, acoustic inspection systems that utilize acoustic sensors todetermine whether an anomalous state exists within the manufacturingcell 140, image inspection systems that utilize image sensors to performknown image processing routines (e.g., a difference-based imageprocessing routine, a semantic-based image processing routine, amongothers) on image data obtained from the manufacturing cell 140 todetermine whether an anomalous state exists, and other environmentinspection systems. Example inspection systems are described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/091,794 titled “COLLECTIVE ANOMALYDETECTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS,” which is commonly owned with the presentapplication and the contents of which are incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Referring to FIGS. 1-2 , the manufacturing system 100 may include atransport system configured to move the manufacturing capsules 150 tothe plurality of manufacturing cells 140. As an example, the structures110 may include horizontal transport systems 160 that transversely movethe manufacturing capsules 150 at a given level 130. As another example,the structures 110 include vertical transport systems 170 that areconfigured to longitudinally move the manufacturing capsules 150 betweenthe levels 130. While the vertical transport systems 170 are illustratedas part of an exterior of the structure 110, the vertical transportsystems may also be provided within the structure 110. As an additionalexample, the manufacturing system 100 includes structure transportsystems 180 that transversely move the manufacturing capsules 150 amongthe structures 110. As yet another example, the manufacturing system 100includes ground level transport systems 183 that transversely moveand/or provide a path for transversely moving the manufacturing capsules150 among the structures 110.

In one form, the transport systems may be configured to transport aspecific type of manufacturing capsule 150. For example, one or morevertical transport systems may be configured to only transport supplycapsules to the plurality of manufacturing cells 140 (e.g., supplyvertical transport systems 185 in FIG. 2 ). The horizontal transportsystems 160, the vertical transport systems 170, the structure transportsystems 180, and the supply vertical transport systems 185 arecollectively referred to hereinafter as “transport systems.” Asdescribed below in further detail with reference to FIG. 7 , a controlsystem is configured to control the movement of the manufacturingcapsules 150 via the transport systems.

In one form, the transport systems are implemented by elevator platformsand/or automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that move the manufacturingcapsules 150 to and from the manufacturing cells 140vertically/horizontally using a rail system. In one form, the transportsystems are implemented by mobile robots, drones, and/or autonomousdevices that move the manufacturing capsules 150 to the manufacturingcells 140 vertically/horizontally within the structures 110. In someforms, the transport systems include various movement systems (e.g.,propulsion systems, steering systems, and/or brake systems) to move themanufacturing capsules 150 and one or more processor circuits that areconfigured to execute machine-readable instructions stored in one ormore nontransitory computer-readable mediums, such as a random-accessmemory (RAM) circuit and/or read-only memory (ROM) circuit. Thetransport systems may also include other components for performing theoperations described herein, such as, but not limited to, movementdrivers and systems, transceivers, routers, and/or input/outputinterface hardware.

It should be understood that any number of structures 110, levels 130,manufacturing cells 140, manufacturing capsules 150, and/or transportsystems may be included within the manufacturing system 100 and is notlimited to the example described herein.

Referring to FIG. 3 , another manufacturing system 300 is shown. Themanufacturing system 300 is similar to the manufacturing system 100,except that structure 310 is configured to have a cuboid like shape asopposed to the cylindrical shape of structure 110. The description ofvarious components of the manufacturing system 300, which is similar tothe manufacturing system 100, is omitted for the sake of brevity.

Referring to FIG. 4 , another manufacturing system 400 is shown. Themanufacturing system 400 is similar to the manufacturing system 300,except that the horizontal transport system 160 and the verticaltransport system 170 are located within the structures 410. Thedescription of various components of the manufacturing system 400, whichis similar to the manufacturing system 100, is omitted for the sake ofbrevity.

Referring to FIG. 5 , an example of a workpiece capsule 500 disposed ata manufacturing cell 501 and a horizontal transport system 530 is shown.The workpiece capsule 500, the manufacturing cell 501, and thehorizontal transport system 530 can be employed as part of themanufacturing systems 100, 300, 400. In one form, the workpiece capsule500 includes an elevator platform 505 that supports a workpiece 510 anda robot 520, and the horizontal transport system 530 includes rails 535and wheels 540 attached/secured to the workpiece capsule 500. In oneform, the workpiece capsule 500 is configured to move horizontally alongthe rails 535 using the wheels 540. While FIG. 5 illustrates oneworkpiece capsule 500, it should be understood that other workpiececapsules 500 may have similar configurations such that the otherworkpiece capsules 500 are moveable along the horizontal transportsystem 530. It should be understood that the workpiece capsule 500 mayhave other configurations in other forms and is not limited to theconfiguration described herein. It should also be understood that othertransport systems described herein may include similar rails for movingthe workpiece capsule 500 using the wheels 540. As described below infurther detail with reference to FIG. 7 , a control system is configuredto control the movement of workpiece capsule 500 along the horizontaltransport system 530.

Referring to FIG. 6 , an example of a horizontal transport system 610, avertical transport system 620, and a workpiece capsule 650 disposed at amanufacturing cell 640 is shown. The horizontal transport system 610,the vertical transport system 620, the manufacturing cell 640, and theworkpiece capsule 650 can be employed as part of the manufacturingsystems 100, 300, 400. In one form, the horizontal transport system 610and the vertical transport system 620, which are implemented by railsystems, are connected at transition nodes 630 and are configured tomove between each other at the transition nodes 630. In one form, thetransition nodes 630 include horizontal/vertical elevator switchingsystems and mechanisms configured to switch the manufacturing capsules650 between the horizontal transport system 610 and the verticaltransport system 620. In one form, the transition nodes 630 includeloading systems and mechanisms configured to load the workpiece capsule650 into and remove the workpiece capsule 650 from the manufacturingcells 640 (that is, the transition nodes 630 are configured toload/remove the workpiece capsule 650 to/from the manufacturing cells640 in the ±Z direction). It should be understood that an additionaltransition node 630 may be disposed at an area proximate to anintersection between the structure transport system 180 (not shown) andat least one of the horizontal transport system 610 and the verticaltransport system 620.

Referring to FIG. 7 , in one form, the manufacturing systems 100, 300,400 include a control system 700 that is configured to control themovement of the manufacturing capsules 150 within the transport systems.In one form, the control system 700 and the transport systems arecommunicably coupled using any suitable wireless communication protocol(e.g., a Bluetooth®-type protocol, a cellular protocol, a wirelessfidelity-type (WiFi-type) protocol, a near-field communication (NFC)protocol, an ultra-wideband (UWB) protocol, among others).

In one form, the control system 700 may include a vehicle inputparameter module (VIPM) 710, a vehicle assembly instruction creationmodule (VAICM) 720, a path planning module (PPM) 730, a capsule movementmodule (CMM) 740, and a cycle time module (CTM) 750. The components ofthe control system 700 can be provided at the same location ordistributed at different locations and communicably coupled accordingly.To perform the functionality described herein, the control system 700may include one or more processor circuits that are configured toexecute machine-readable instructions stored in one or morenontransitory computer-readable mediums, such as a RAM circuit and/orROM circuit. The control system 700 may also include other componentsfor performing the operations described herein such as, but not limitedto, movement drivers and systems, transceivers, routers, and/orinput/output interface hardware.

In one form, the VIPM 710 receives inputs corresponding to variousdesign parameters of a vehicle to be manufactured. The inputs mayinclude, but are not limited to: a vehicle model, a vehicle trim, designvariations, and a hierarchal relationship between the vehicle and othervehicles being manufactured currently or at a later time. In one form,the VIPM 710 is a dynamic manufacturing control system that defines anautomated operation to be performed on a workpiece, selectsmanufacturing materials for the workpiece based on the manufacturingoperations, and selects a time and/or location (e.g., a given level 130and/or manufacturing cell 140) for performing the manufacturingoperations. Example dynamic manufacturing control systems are describedin U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/063,291 titled “SYSTEM AND METHODFOR GENERATING DYNAMIC MANUFACTURING PROCESS SEQUENCES,” which iscommonly owned with the present application and the contents of whichare incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In one form, the VAICM 720 generates vehicle assembly instructions basedon the inputs. The vehicle assembly instructions may define themanufacturing operations of the vehicular manufacturing process, one ormore levels 130 in which the manufacturing operations are performed,and/or various transport systems utilized to transport correspondingmanufacturing capsules 150 to/from the manufacturing cells 140. As anexample, the vehicle assembly instructions may include assigning a firstmanufacturing cell 140 on a first level 130 for a first manufacturingoperation and instructing one of the workpiece capsules 152 to provide aworkpiece and a robot to the first manufacturing cell for performing thefirst manufacturing operation. Furthermore, the vehicle assemblyinstructions may include additional manufacturing operations, additionalmanufacturing cells 140 and/or levels 130 for performing the additionalmanufacturing operations, and additional designated manufacturingcapsules 150 for transporting the corresponding supplies for performingthe additional manufacturing operations.

In one form, the PPM 730 is configured to define a nominal path betweenthe first manufacturing cell 140 and the additional manufacturing cells140. In one form, the PPM 730 may define a nominal path based on adistance between the first manufacturing cell and the additionalmanufacturing cells 140, an aggregate cycle time of the manufacturingoperations defined by the vehicle assembly instructions, an availabilityof the additional manufacturing cells 140, and/or the hierarchalrelationship indicated by the VIPM 710. As an example, in response to aninput indicating that the vehicle is a “high priority vehicle” relativeto other vehicles being manufactured, the PPM 730 may define the nominalpath corresponding to a reduced aggregate cycle time. As anotherexample, the PPM 730 may define the nominal path based on knowngraph-based path planning routine, such as, but not limited to:Djikstra's graph-based path planning routine and/or Grassfiregraph-based path planning routine. As an additional example, if theaggregate cycle time is greater than a threshold value, the PPM 730 maydefine the nominal path to be within only one level 130 (and therebyinhibit additional bottlenecks caused by the path traversing throughmultiple levels 130).

In one form, the CMM 740 is configured to control the movement of themanufacturing capsules 150 based on the nominal path. As an example, theCMM 740 is configured to perform known collision avoidance routines,such as, but not limited to: model predictive control-based routines andmixed-integer programming-based routines. As such, the CMM 740 mayadjust the nominal path to a subsequent level 130 and/or manufacturingcell 140 based on one or more results of the collision avoidanceroutines.

In one form, the CMM 740 is configured to control the movement of themanufacturing capsules 150 based on cycle time data obtained from theCTM 750. In one form, the cycle time data indicates current cycle timeof a manufacturing process performed on a workpiece at a givenmanufacturing cell 140. As an example, the CMM 740 may adjust thenominal path to a new level 130 and/or manufacturing cell 140 if thecurrent cycle time of a manufacturing process exceeds an estimated cycletime for the given manufacturing process.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides for nonlinear,three-dimensional manufacturing system that have a smaller physicalfootprint compared to traditional manufacturing facilities/systems.Furthermore, the reduced physical footprint enables the manufacturingsystems to be included in unconventional areas (e.g., a skyscraper in anurban environment). Additionally, the nonlinear, three-dimensionalmanufacturing system provides for inhibited use of pass-throughstructures of a conventional assembly line process, as the vehiclemanufacturing process can be carried out using a single manufacturingcapsule that moves to and from the various levels/manufacturing cells ofthe structure.

Furthermore, the control system is configured to selectively control themovement of the manufacturing capsules between the levels and variousmanufacturing cells of the nonlinear manufacturing system. As such, thecontrol system provides for a dynamic and adaptable vehiclemanufacturing process that can account for design variations, qualityissues, among other factors.

Unless otherwise expressly indicated herein, all numerical valuesindicating mechanical/thermal properties, compositional percentages,dimensions and/or tolerances, or other characteristics are to beunderstood as modified by the word “about” or “approximately” indescribing the scope of the present disclosure. This modification isdesired for various reasons including industrial practice; material,manufacturing, and assembly tolerances; and testing capability.

As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should beconstrued to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logicalOR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least oneof B, and at least one of C.”

The description of the disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and,thus, variations that do not depart from the substance of the disclosureare intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such variationsare not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure.

In the figures, the direction of an arrow, as indicated by thearrowhead, generally demonstrates the flow of information (such as dataor instructions) that is of interest to the illustration. For example,when element A and element B exchange a variety of information, butinformation transmitted from element A to element B is relevant to theillustration, the arrow may point from element A to element B. Thisunidirectional arrow does not imply that no other information istransmitted from element B to element A. Further, for information sentfrom element A to element B, element B may send requests for, or receiptacknowledgements of, the information to element A.

In this application, the term “module” and/or “controller” may refer to,be part of, or include: an Application Specific Integrated Circuit(ASIC); a digital, analog, or mixed analog/digital discrete circuit; adigital, analog, or mixed analog/digital integrated circuit; acombinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); aprocessor circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code; amemory circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executedby the processor circuit; other suitable hardware components thatprovide the described functionality; or a combination of some or all ofthe above, such as in a system-on-chip.

The term memory is a subset of the term computer-readable medium. Theterm computer-readable medium, as used herein, does not encompasstransitory electrical or electromagnetic signals propagating through amedium (such as on a carrier wave); the term computer-readable mediummay therefore be considered tangible and non-transitory. Non-limitingexamples of a non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium arenonvolatile memory circuits (such as a flash memory circuit, an erasableprogrammable read-only memory circuit, or a mask read-only circuit),volatile memory circuits (such as a static random access memory circuitor a dynamic random access memory circuit), magnetic storage media (suchas an analog or digital magnetic tape or a hard disk drive), and opticalstorage media (such as a CD, a DVD, or a Blu-ray Disc).

The apparatuses and methods described in this application may bepartially or fully implemented by a special purpose computer created byconfiguring a general-purpose computer to execute one or more particularfunctions embodied in computer programs. The functional blocks,flowchart components, and other elements described above serve assoftware specifications, which can be translated into the computerprograms by the routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.

What is claimed is:
 1. A control system for controlling a plurality ofmanufacturing capsules in a manufacturing system for assembling avehicle, the manufacturing system including a structure having aplurality of levels and including a plurality of manufacturing cellsdistributed among the plurality of levels, the manufacturing systemincluding the plurality of manufacturing capsules disposable at theplurality of manufacturing cells and configured to support a vehicularmanufacturing process to assemble the vehicle, wherein the vehicularmanufacturing process includes a plurality of manufacturing operations,the manufacturing system including a transport system configured to movethe plurality of manufacturing capsules to the plurality ofmanufacturing cells, wherein the transport system includes a verticaltransport system configured to longitudinally move the plurality ofmanufacturing capsules between the plurality of levels, the controlsystem comprising: a processor and a nontransitory computer-readablemedium comprising instructions that are executable by the processor,wherein the instructions include: generating vehicle assemblyinstructions based on the vehicular manufacturing process, one or moreselected levels from among the plurality of levels, and one or moreselected manufacturing cells disposed at the one or more selectedlevels; defining a nominal path based on the one or more selectedmanufacturing cells and the one or more selected levels; and controllingmovement of the manufacturing capsules based on the nominal path.
 2. Thecontrol system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further comprisecontrolling the movement of the manufacturing capsules based on vehicleassembly sequence instructions.
 3. The control system of claim 2,wherein the vehicle assembly sequence instructions define the pluralityof manufacturing operations of the vehicular manufacturing process andone or more levels from among the plurality of levels for performing theplurality of manufacturing operations.
 4. The control system of claim 2,wherein the vehicle assembly sequence instructions identify a firstmanufacturing cell from among one or more levels of the plurality oflevels for performing a first manufacturing operation of the pluralityof manufacturing operations.
 5. The control system of claim 4, whereinthe vehicle assembly sequence instructions define a path between thefirst manufacturing cell and one or more additional manufacturing cellsfor performing additional manufacturing operations of the plurality ofmanufacturing operations.
 6. The control system of claim 5, wherein thepath is based on a comparison between a cycle time of a givenmanufacturing operation from among the plurality of manufacturingoperations to a threshold cycle time of the given manufacturingoperation.
 7. The control system of claim 1, wherein the instructionsfurther comprise controlling the movement of the manufacturing capsulesbased on a collision avoidance routine.
 8. The control system of claim1, wherein the vehicle assembly instructions are based on a model of thevehicle, a trim of the vehicle, a hierarchal relationship between thevehicle and one or more additional vehicles, or a combination thereof.9. The control system of claim 8, wherein the nominal path is based onthe hierarchal relationship between the vehicle and the one or moreadditional vehicles.
 10. The control system of claim 1, wherein the oneor more selected manufacturing cells include a plurality of selectedmanufacturing cells, and wherein the nominal path is based on a distancebetween the plurality of selected manufacturing cells, an aggregatecycle time of the plurality of manufacturing operations, an availabilityof the plurality of selected manufacturing cells, or a combinationthereof.
 11. The control system of claim 1, wherein the instructionsfurther comprise controlling the movement of the manufacturing capsulesbased on cycle time data of the one or more selected manufacturingcells.
 12. A method for controlling a plurality of manufacturingcapsules to assemble a vehicle in a manufacturing system, themanufacturing system including a structure having a plurality of levelsand including a plurality of manufacturing cells distributed among theplurality of levels, the manufacturing system including the plurality ofmanufacturing capsules disposable at the plurality of manufacturingcells and configured to support a vehicular manufacturing process toassemble the vehicle, wherein the vehicular manufacturing processincludes a plurality of manufacturing operations, the manufacturingsystem including a transport system configured to move the plurality ofmanufacturing capsules to the plurality of manufacturing cells, whereinthe transport system includes a vertical transport system configured tolongitudinally move the plurality of manufacturing capsules between theplurality of levels, the method comprising: generating vehicle assemblyinstructions based on the vehicular manufacturing process, one or moreselected levels from among the plurality of levels, and one or moreselected manufacturing cells disposed at the one or more selectedlevels; defining a nominal path based on the one or more selectedmanufacturing cells and the one or more selected levels; and controllingmovement of the manufacturing capsules based on the nominal path. 13.The method of claim 12 further comprising controlling the movement ofthe manufacturing capsules based on vehicle assembly sequenceinstructions.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the vehicle assemblysequence instructions define the plurality of manufacturing operationsof the vehicular manufacturing process and one or more levels from amongthe plurality of levels for performing the plurality of manufacturingoperations.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the vehicle assemblysequence instructions identify a first manufacturing cell from among oneor more levels of the plurality of levels for performing a firstmanufacturing operation of the plurality of manufacturing operations.16. The method of claim 12 further comprising controlling the movementof the manufacturing capsules based on a collision avoidance routine.17. The method of claim 12, wherein the vehicle assembly instructionsare based on a model of the vehicle, a trim of the vehicle, a hierarchalrelationship between the vehicle and one or more additional vehicles, ora combination thereof.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the nominalpath is based on the hierarchal relationship between the vehicle and theone or more additional vehicles.
 19. The method of claim 12, wherein theone or more selected manufacturing cells include a plurality of selectedmanufacturing cells, and wherein the nominal path is based on a distancebetween the plurality of selected manufacturing cells, an aggregatecycle time of the plurality of manufacturing operations, an availabilityof the plurality of selected manufacturing cells, or a combinationthereof.
 20. The method of claim 12 further comprising controlling themovement of the manufacturing capsules based on cycle time data of theone or more selected manufacturing cells.